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(1779–1848)

British Whig statesman, Prime Minister (1834; 1835–41). He was appointed Home Secretary under Lord Grey in 1830, before becoming Premier in 1834. Out of office briefly that year, he subsequently became chief political adviser to Queen Victoria after her accession in 1837. His term was marked by Chartist and anti-Corn Laws agitation. His wife, Lady Caroline Lamb (1785–1828), whom he married in 1805, had a notorious affair with Lord Byron, but the Lambs separated in 1825, before Lord Melbourne's premiership.